Droughts and Floods

Featured Articles
December 12, 2022
Why farmers are not adopting crop insurance in India?
Study looks at behavioral biases in crop insurance adoption
Adoption rate of crop insurance low in India despite government efforts (Image: PxHere, CC0 Public Domain)
October 30, 2022
Slow disaster: Political ecology of hazards and everyday life in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam
This book by Dr. Mitul Baruah presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. This is an excerpt from the book.
Floods are recurrent phenomena in Assam (Image: Mitul Baruah)
September 13, 2022
Chaos in a concrete jungle
Heavy rains and floods have battered Bengaluru yet again. Uncontrolled and unregulated development and concretisation of the city that pays no heed to the ecology and hydrology of the region needs to stop!
Urban flooding in Bangalore (Image Source: Thejas via Wikimedia Commons)
August 21, 2022
Floods – a boon than a bane!
Floods are not feared, but rather welcomed by the Mishing communities from Majuli island in Assam as they bring bountiful fish- a rich source of food, nutrition and livelihood for the community.
The Majuli island, a haven for fish (Image Source: Usha Dewani, India Water Portal)
August 10, 2022
Taming water - Irrigation and drought protection in colonial India and the present
The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
August 2, 2022
Floods in Assam - a boon or a bane for fish diversity?
The frequency and intensity of floods is on the rise in Assam spelling doom for fish biodiversity.
Life during floods in Assam (Image Source: Kausika Bordoloi via Wikimedia Commons)
Rainwater harvesting in India: Traditional and contemporary
A brief look at the historical development of traditional rainwater harvesting systems of India ans also issues, need and relevance of RWH in the urban context
Sekhar Raghavan
Posted on 21 Aug, 2009 12:41 PM

The document informs that traditionally Indians worshipped both water and rain as “Jala” and “Varuna”. Even rivers were worshipped. Till 3000 B.C., RWH happened without human effort as rain got collected in rivers and natural depressions. Civilizations flourished on river banks all over the world Indus valley civilization in India.
Megh Pyne Abhiyan: An initiative to promote rainwater harvesting to provide safe drinking water during floods
A brief introduction to what drives the Megh Pyne Abhiyan
Megh Pyne Abhiyan
Posted on 21 Aug, 2009 12:15 PM

Megh Pyne Abhiyan - Baadh prabhavit sthalon mein varsha jal sangrahan

Read more about the effort in Hindi
"Sooru Neeru" - A book in Kannada on rooftop rainwater harvesting
Download all seven parts of the book from the links provided below
Karnataka State Resource Center
Posted on 21 Aug, 2009 12:08 PM

"Sooru Neeru" - A Kannada book from the Karnataka State Resource Center provides information about rooftop rainwater harvesting.

Total size: 3MB

Download all seven parts in Kannada from the links provided
Nela Jala' - A book about rainwater harvesting from the Karnataka State Resource Center
Download all six parts of the Kannada book 'Nela Jala' from the links provided below
Karnataka State Resource Center
Posted on 21 Aug, 2009 11:48 AM

'Nela Jala', a book from the Karnataka State Resource Center talks extensively about rainwater harvesting and also touches upon related aspects like water quality, agricultural practice, rainfall data.

Total size 3.0 MB
Rain shocked: A Down To Earth's study on the effects of climate change on precipitation patterns in India
A Down To Earth research study on how climate change is leading to a rising trend of short but intense spells of rainfall, which is making usable water scarce in India
Down to Earth
Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 05:11 PM

This research study (Mar 15 2009) throws light on how climate change is leading to a rising trend of short but intense spells of rainfall, which is making usable water scarce in India.

Read the study
Hiware Bazar water balance sheet 2007: From scarcity to surplus
The story of how villagers of Hiware Bazaar in Maharashtra turned the water situation around in their villages from 'scarcity to surplus'
Down to Earth
Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 05:03 PM

The work done by the villagers of Hiware Bazaar (Maharashtra) in transforming their village, through soil and water conservation works with Government / Panchayat funds is well known.
Fed by rain - India's rainfed and poorest areas overlap
India's rainfed areas are agriculture intensive - 85% of the employed people in these areas are engaged in agriculture.
Down to Earth
Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 03:52 PM

Consisting mainly of arid and semi-arid areas and the country's 200 backward districts, these rainfed regions are concentrated in 13 states.
Annual average availability of water for agriculture in India as of 1991
This map shows the river basin-wise annual average availability of water (in m3) for agricultural cultivation, as of 1991
Hydrology and Water Resources and Information System
Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 02:50 PM

/sites/default/files/iwp/Basin-wise%20annual%20average%20availability%20of%20water%20for%20agriculture_1991_NIH.jpg
Rashtrita Jal Chetna Yatra: Efforts of Tarun Bharat Sangh and Rajendar Singh in addressing water related concerns across the country
A detailed write up about the aims, aspirations and achievements of the Rashtriya Jal Chetna Yatra
Rashtriya Jal Chetna Yatra
Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 02:20 PM

Tarun Bharat Sangh and Rajendar Singh started a massive campaign to spread awareness of traditional water harvesting structures in order to restore the water resources of arid Rajasthan. The aim was to popularize the use of such traditional structures across the country.
Map depicting areas prone to flooding in India
A map from Wikimedia Commons showing the areas frequently affected by floods in India
Wikimedia Commons
Posted on 19 Aug, 2009 03:48 PM

This map shows the regions in the country that are regularly affected by floods.

The major flood prone regions are Punjab, Haryana, most of the Gangetic plains including Uttar Pradesh, North Bihar and West Bengal, the Brahmaputra valley, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, and South Gujarat.
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